You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 174

You Guys Are Defended – Episode 174

[Regarding Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s Announcement (Written by: Apollo)]

We always fight like crazy, but I don’t think it’s ever been this noisy, lol.

Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical must be really feeling the heat right now.

I’ve been thinking a lot after seeing this announcement.

Of course, I’ve been thinking and listening to stories from experts around me.

I’ve also looked into various things.

From what I’ve found, the research institution presented by Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical has many problems.

It’s currently under controversy for allegedly falsifying clinical trial records.

If you’re good at English, check out this link.

It’s a detailed summary of the controversy.

http://www.biosyo.com/artide/231982712

But do you know what’s even more interesting about this research?

That Hyizolam, which is supposed to suppress the side effects of the two problematic ingredients…

There’s a high possibility that Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical commissioned the research on that Hyizolam to the relevant U.S. institution.

Smells fishy, right?

In the worst-case scenario, Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical may have bribed a U.S. research institution to release a study with fake clinical trial results.

And they would have kept it as a shield to use when the ingredients in Antrozol Alpha became a problem.

Honestly, it’s called the worst-case scenario, but I think this is quite possible.

Because, logically, would a pharmaceutical company present a paper from an institution with a controversy over false clinical trial records to prove that there’s no problem with their drug?

Does that make sense?

If they were really confident in Antrozol Alpha, they wouldn’t do this.

Even if they thought there was nothing wrong with that paper, if the institution was embroiled in such a controversy, it would only diminish their sincerity.

Even if it takes time, they would either do the research themselves again or commission it to another institution.

But they proudly presented this, right?

What do you think this means?

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety [South Korea’s equivalent of the FDA] says there’s no problem, so we’re going to quickly release it in the Korean domestic market and make money.

So, you stupid pigs, just look up that paper and shut up if you see something you can’t even understand a few lines of in English, that’s what they’re saying.

Is that an overreaction?

Not at all.

Among the people who read this, is there anyone who has properly read the research results and papers released by Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical?

Is there anyone who understood it, lol?

I know you all just decided to believe it because it looks like a plausible paper and it’s written in English, so you’re like, “Wow, that’s so cool, as expected of Wooshin, keke.”

They’re going to capitalize on the image that Koreans have of Wooshin Group (not the character, but the products).

That was a long story.

Anyway, let me summarize my story in three lines.

1. Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical already knows there’s a problem with Antrozol Alpha.

2. But they’re trying to sell it, showing research results from an unreliable institution and telling us to accept it.

3. Are you kidding me, Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical, you bastards?

To those who were trying to accept Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s explanation, Jo Bong-joon raised a new issue.

The reason why Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s stock has started to rise again is solely because of the news that Hyizolam suppresses the reaction that occurs when Apilataylene and Lopetamine meet.

However, if the possibility that Hyizolam may not actually perform such an action is raised, people will inevitably feel anxious again.

The issue raised by Jo Bong-joon, riding on the wave of mass postings by numerous third-rate internet media outlets who like to copy other people’s articles, began to spread.

Jo Bong-joon’s existing influence, and the link to the overseas site containing the article summarizing the controversy of the U.S. research institution, which showed that the article he wrote was not false.

The synergy between the two was better than expected.

“Oh, isn’t that the site in the link I posted?”

Jo Bong-joon said, pointing at the television while eating snacks and watching cable news.

The English explanation from the overseas site was highlighted one by one, and a video translated into Korean filled the screen.

And in the meantime, whether they had done their own investigation, they were even explaining the progress with the organization that first reported the research institution.

“Oho, are we finally getting bites from the cable broadcasting station side?

[Accordingly, some of the papers published by the research institution have been rejected for review…]”

Furthermore, they even gave a clear briefing on the current situation, stating that the review of the papers published by the institution is being put on hold.

“I feel like we’re really going head-to-head with Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical now.”

Choi Jong-hyun turned his body from the dining table chair towards the living room and smiled.

“Of course, hyung [older brother/male friend]. I’m writing articles right now, prepared to be sued, so of course, we have to go head-to-head.”

Jo Bong-joon said, chewing on snacks fiercely.

Snack crumbs stuck to the corner of his mouth and then plummeted onto the sofa.

I frowned slightly.

That’s my sofa.

We came to the conclusion that it would be best for me, Jo Bong-joon, and Choi Jong-hyun to stay together as much as possible until things were on track to some extent.

So, the first hideout we chose was Choi Jong-hyun’s house.

But the problem was that I had to go to work.

Choi Jong-hyun’s house was far from Seocho-dong [a district in Seoul], so it took a lot of time just to commute.

Choi Jong-hyun, who had declared that he would create his own internet media while working as a freelancer, and Jo Bong-joon, who was living as an investor, told me to move to Seocho-dong, so we chose my house.

But Jo Bong-joon was using the house more messily than I thought.

“…Can’t you eat snacks a little less messily?”

“Snacks? Why? Is it bad for my health?”

“What does Jo Bong-joon-ssi’s [Mr./Ms.] health have to do with me? You’re spilling crumbs all over the house.”

“What, is Cha Byun-ssi [Mr. Cha, using a professional title] a germaphobe by nature?”

What does it mean to be a germaphobe by nature?

I sighed and took out a large plastic bag from the kitchen.

And I put the bag handles over Jo Bong-joon’s ears.

“Eat with this on.”

“Ah, you’re being so picky. I’m the one sleeping on the sofa anyway.”

If he were just a guest, I would have kicked him out a long time ago, but Jo Bong-joon’s role is big this time, so I couldn’t.

I shook my head and sat down roughly next to him.

“What was Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s closing price today?”

“30,700 won [Korean currency].”

“That means there are still quite a few people who believe in Hyizolam. The stock price didn’t drop as much as when I first revealed it.”

“It hasn’t been long since I posted the article. Still, isn’t that cable broadcast moving a bit fast? When I looked it up, no major media outlet mentioned that there was a problem with the U.S. research institution. I really hate the way those bastards take Wooshin money and keep their mouths shut.”

Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s explanation, using Hyizolam as a shield, was more effective than expected.

It hasn’t been long since I refuted it.

It’s true that it’s better to watch quietly, as Jo Bong-joon said, but it’s not easy to make up my mind.

This is what’s scary about public opinion battles.

The person who strikes first usually gains the upper hand, but once it’s overturned, it’s not easy to overturn it again.

And it wasn’t like they had no way out at all.

Even though we confirmed that there was a problem with the research institution, it’s not strictly about Hyizolam.

Even if there’s a problem with other research conducted there, if they say there’s no evidence that the research on Hyizolam is also like that, we have nothing to say.

Of course, it’s a medicine and people’s lives are at stake, so it’s natural to have even the slightest doubt.

If there’s even a slight problem with integrity, it’s medicine that goes into people’s bodies, so you have to discard it immediately and start over.

I was going to appeal to that human nature, but it’s not as easy as I thought.

And it was clear that they were trying to use that fact as well.

A new post appeared in the best section of the site, where articles with many recommendations are gathered.

[Why the research on Hyizolam is not a problem (Written by: ChickenLover)]

First of all, I am someone who has bet all my assets on Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical, so I want to reveal that I want to know the truth about Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical more than anyone else.

I’m not in the field of pharmacy, but I’m a biology major and in a doctoral program.

So, I’ve been reading the paper in detail for several days.

But as I looked through it, there was a Korean in the Hyizolam research team?

His name is Lee Joon-sung.

When I Googled him, he’s been with Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical since 2003.

Earlier, in the article Apollo posted, you saw that Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical commissioned the Hyizolam research here and that they may have fabricated the research together, right?

Maybe that’s why you thought so because of the person named Lee Joon-sung.

But why does Apollo only interpret it that way?

When I looked it up, Lee Joon-sung participated in the Hyizolam research and directly led the research as the chief researcher.

On the other hand, the studies that had problems with false clinical trial records were all led by a team leader named Brian Hastings.

In other words, even if there’s a problem with the research conducted under Brian so-and-so, there’s a greater possibility that the research led by Lee Joon-sung is not a problem.

And if you put aside all the other issues and just look at the paper itself, there’s no problem.

The clinical records seem suspicious, but even when I, who had been rotting in graduate school for 15 years, looked at it, there’s nothing to suspect.

Because Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical has uploaded all the phase 3 results conducted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The prognosis is the same, lol.

I don’t think there’s a problem with Antrozol Alpha.

You guys are too obsessed with conspiracy theories.

Even if Korea is the Wooshin Republic [a satirical term implying Wooshin Group has excessive influence], medicine is a matter of people’s lives.

Is the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety a pushover?

Do you think they’re just pushovers who say, “Yes, sir,” and approve it when Wooshin brings in a strange drug to sell?

I’m most suspicious of Apollo.

Why is that guy, who usually acts refined without taking sides, suddenly attacking Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical so hard…ㅉ [a Korean internet slang expression indicating disapproval or clicking one’s tongue]

Apollo, where did you get paid from, lol?]

Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical was relentlessly launching a barrage of attacks, as if to firmly grasp the public opinion that they had managed to turn around.

They were most diligently using the fact that the national institution, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, had approved it.

“Do people believe this kind of crap? We can just ignore it.”

Jo Bong-joon muttered, closing the post, but I shook my head.

“No.”

Now is the most important time.

If this controversy continues, this topic, which is only noisy among stock traders and industry people, can be spread to a national issue.

If the firepower is insufficient here, or if the explanation from Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical is accepted by the majority of public opinion due to a lack of persuasiveness, this game will inevitably end.

If that’s the case, then…

“Jo Bong-joon-ssi.”

“Why?”

“What if we get sued once?”

“Sued?”

I pointed to the notice that popped up on Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s official site.

To be exact, the words written on the very bottom line.

[Currently, groundless claims are spreading through the internet that our Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical deliberately concealed and manufactured medicines knowing that there were side effects in order to increase sales of our products. Our Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical is suffering enormous damage due to such maliciously fabricated slanders. Our Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical plans to take strong action against the spread of malicious false information, and we would like to inform you that we have completed the first monitoring through the law firm with which we have a business partnership.]

“…Spreading false information?”

Jo Bong-joon turned to me with wide eyes.

“The articles that Jo Bong-joon-ssi is writing on the internet right now. From Myung-Hwa Pharmaceutical’s point of view, isn’t it spreading false information?”

“…”

“If you add a little seasoning and say it strongly, they’ll be even more upset because the stock price is being affected by Apollo anyway. Wouldn’t they want to sue you?”